Garouk, Hunter of Man
History Garouk (GA-ROHK) was born into a nomadic tribe of barbaric peoples in the lands north of Telemnar. He was sold into slavery after a (now unknown) rival clan razed and pillaged his family's camp, and captured the young men. All his family was slain and he grew up working hard labor for his captors. All the while he grew strong and silently formed plans in his head, never letting go of the revenge and hatred in his heart. He learned the ways of nature from a fellow slave, and grew to hate all humans and elves (those races primarily made up the slavers), even though he was himself human. He realized that most mortals are a blight on the world, spoiling that which is in perfect balance. Garouk found the orcish races and other strong folk to be the future of mortalkind, as they unite under one banner easily, the banner of strength. He reasoned that through strength anything can be achieved. He over the years sharpened his body and mind for an inevitable battle. Nearly a decade later, he led a carefully timed revolt with his fellow captives and secured a stronghold, recruiting many souls both brave and foul to join his cause, using promises of riches, glory, and darker incentives -- many of these he had already procured for himself. Warriors, clerics, sorcerors and savage monsters like fire giants soon heard of Garouk and his war-band, and flocked to his cause. Garouk never let his scars heal over the years and even purposefully added new scars and disfigurements in order to distance himself from his human visage and heritage. His newfound clan performed daring raids on villages he thought to be under tyrannical rule, and they were very successful in conquering and recruiting others of like mind. Eventually he overthrew the village of Aren, whose ruler Andoriel (cousin of Archer) governed with an iron fist. However in doing these acts Garouk eventually became very much like the thing he hated: a leader who dominates with fear instead of integrity. Clinging to his (twisted) sense of honor, he accepted the brave challenge of the Seven in the year 956AA, a Calithorian duel with two champions in a middle ring and their companions on the outside battling as well. The outcome of this duel would determine who was the final ruler of those lands. In the first round many fire giants were killed, as well as one of Garouk's Kordian clerics, and Garouk's own head almost became severed by Alrick before the Chosen One saved him by closing his wounds. He then saw the heroism of the Seven in a new light. Since tradition demanded the match continue, they fought again but Garouk knew he was going to lose and thus submitted the match to Alrick. This did not please many of his followers, and a war between those loyal to Garouk and the rest broke out immediately on the same arena field. Only by a surprise attack from Bertram and his company of archers and the timely appearance of Somnar the Silver did the heroes survive and reclaim Archer's lands. Garouk now has a new lease on life, suggested to him by Zerash Starbrand: live life, spread the word of the Invincible through words and actions, and redeem himself. He now wanders the land with his few remaining followers finding answers and helping those who cannot help themselves. Description Garouk is a towering, massive barbarian and ranger, the epitome of physical perfection His eyes are intense and his demeanor is quite intimidating. However he is not a dullard and has many opinions on governments, tactics, gods, and traditions. His favored enemies are humans and elves (hence the title Hunter of Man) and he carries Bane weapons for just about any creature he runs into. He wears an ornamental breastplate, various animal hides and and not much else in the way of protective gear. Garouk prefers to enter the fight in a rage, tripping his opponent or sundering their weapons, and fighting with two weapons, usually a battleaxe and handaxe. With the right spells cast by his allies, his strength can exceed that of a fire giant. Trivia Garouk is inspired by Garruk Wildspeaker, a planeswalker from Magic the Gathering, and also the feral nature of Garou from other games. Category:NPC's Category:Garouk Category:Calithor Category:Calithorian Duel